Lisa Phillipson Photography » Atlanta Family and High School Senior Photography

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On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Evan

Evan must have been the first true gift I ever received.  He turned 11 years old yesterday.  I don’t really have words to express my shock over him being so old.  Because this is my first day of 12 Days of Blogging I included a picture of his (technically) 2nd Christmas as a one year old.  What a fun Christmas.  This time of year is always more fun when you have little children and we were happy to finally have one!

As I looked through the digital files of Evan’s first year I remembered how sparse they are.  I am scared to check my back up files because I think I may have lost many files some years ago.  Luckily I had more time back then to well-document his first year with scrapbooks. Digital was still new (2001) and I took most of his pictures with my *real* Canon Rebel.  That leads me to remind you to print some of those digital images you have on your computer every once in awhile so you (and your children) can enjoy them.  It would be a great Christmas gift for someone as well.

For a nice printed album for your family, check out Blurb books.  You can get 25% off with the code: HOLIDAYTHANKS through 12/3 and after that date try the code: LASTCALL20.  They have small square and pocket size photo albums that would make great stocking stuffers.  I am really excited about their Facebook Photo Album and Instagram Album.  Easy to make and you can’t beat the price! 

More old pictures of Evan.  My digital camera was very bad! I wasn’t sure that it would ever be able to replace film.  I quickly learned to love how much I could use it and the instant results I could see.  Happy Birthday, Evan!

picture perfect family atlanta

Picture Perfect Family: Another edition of What to Wear Wednesday and I like this one because of all the Gray.  I am itching to paint a wall in my house gray.  It is a popular color right now and I see it paired with yellow a lot.  I guess the great thing about it is that you can put any bright pop of color and here I have a couple of bright pinks that stand out.  Red for the holiday season would work just as well or even more of the plum color (pants).

It may be too late in the year for a family Christmas portrait to be made by most professional photographers.  If you missed out on one this year you can still coordinate your colors and try to take your own Holiday card pictures.  Minted is a newer card company that your friends may not know about if you are looking for the latest and greatest designs for a card.  I have samples of their cards and they offer a thick card-stock and good quality products.  Take a look at my children below.  They are a tough crowd to get a decent picture from but I just go with it.  I like a more candid picture included on my Christmas Cards anyway. If you can’t get the picture-perfect shot you are looking for, do something fun.  Be real.  Life isn’t picture perfect so show your kids like they are.  For mine that means VERY silly.  Think about what you enjoy seeing on Christmas Cards from other people.

picture perfect family atlanta

I am a self proclaimed slacker blogger.  I’m going to make a big push at the end of this year and have 12 days of blogging.  I have lots of session shares and things I never got online and I also will share some favorite photography related products and gift ideas.  Enjoy your last few days of November.  My oldest turns 11 years old on Friday so it is a big week for us.

 

What to Wear | Picture Perfect Family

Wow.  It is definitely my busy season!  Welcome to October – I can’t believe it is here!  It is one of my favorite months and it looks like the leaves are changing earlier this year making for beautiful family portraits way ahead of my Christmas cut-offs (1st of November).

The selection of clothing above look great with Atlanta Fall backdrops.  Purples and Teals really stand out from the changing leaves.  Below is a real-world example of a session from last year.  This session was held at the beginning of November.  I believe we are going to hit these Fall colors earlier this year.  They are spectacular!

And another sample session using shades of purple can be found HERE.

ourtown photographer

Meet the September 2012 Our Town Monthly Cover family, The Thomsens of Vinings Estates.  With ALTA tennis starting today all around Atlanta, it was a great time to feature this fun tennis family on the cover.

ourtown photographer

We multi-tasked for this session.  Not only did we get a great shot for the cover of a magazine, we also marked the occasion of adding a new puppy to the family.  Rue, a little black mixed-breed, was adopted from a shelter just a few days before this picture was taken and is sure to be a long time family member.

Thirdly, we shot to have portraits of Grace with her new puppy and family.  Grace is graduating 8th grade this year and we plan on having some great images for her 8th grade feature page in the yearbook.

Photographer’s Tip: Even if your school does not feature 8th graders like hers does, you can mark that milestone of graduating middle school with a family photo session.   Think of how much he or she will change before the next time they get professionally photographed which is usually during their Senior Year of High School.

What to Wear: Grace has a wonderful unique style and she originally pulled together pieces from the new 2012 Adidas Adizero line that looked terrific.  The red and black that you see in our cover was a back up.  Because you always go with what looks best on Mom first, we decided that the yellow was too much and the black with a blue tennis court backdrop was the way to go.  The pops of red here and there add some color and most importantly it is a more classic image that they can hang in their home and enjoy for years to come.  You want to reflect your personal style in a classic way so that it stands the test of time.

 

ourtown photographer

 

At the closing table when they purchased their home in 2000 the seller leaned over and said “you don’t realize it now but the best thing about your new home is the neighborhood”.  12 years later Angie and Mark Thomsen agree that Vinings Estates, Smyrna neighborhood, has meant more to them than they could have could ever have imagined.

Raising children Grace (14) and Maxmillian (11) keeps the family constantly on the go. Participating in Smyrna Soccer, where Mark has served on the Board of Directors for 6 years, both children have developed good physical skills especially in endurance running as evidenced by Grace winning her age group at last fall’s Silver Comet Trail Half-Marathon….a path she knows well having regularly visited it since being pushed in a baby jogger by her Mom and Dad. The entire family has completed the Peachtree Road Race a combined 30 times.

Fortunately for Mark his position as a VP Business Banker with PNC Bank supporting their Cumberland/Galleria/Smyrna branches keeps him in the area most days and involved with community organizations including the Smyrna Optimist Club.

Another family passion is tennis ! Mark and Angie both captain several neighborhood teams, including Mixed and Men’s Doubles. Angie’s women’s team LOVE (Ladies Of Vinings Estates) won the ALTA City Championship last fall.

Angie is a Stay at home Mom, who likes to cook, bake, and entertain, she is Senior Sales Consultant for Thirty-One Gifts – a line of personalized tote products as a home based business. Who finds most of her time is spent driving and going to sporting events, since the entire family participates in several sports, sometimes it seems like a juggling act to get everyone where they need to be.

Both children attend Eastside Christian School and the family attends Trinity Anglican Mission church on DeFoors Hills Road in Atlanta.

Recently they acquired a black Lab/Jack Russell puppy (RUE) from Atlanta Humane Society who joins their mixed terrier (GIZMO) rescued 6 years ago.

— From Our Town Monthly | September 2012

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Football Season officially started today for me. War Eagle!

Auburn fans often find me as their family photographer so I thought I would share an Auburn-inspired “what-to-wear”.

 

I’m probably biased but I love burnt orange and navy together.  I think the orange and browns look great in Fall too.

Here is a little blast from my past at one of the Atlanta Auburn Club events my family likes to attend.  Kate loves to shake her pom-poms every chance she gets!   (me too)

I have to laugh when I think about the conversation with the Mom of these kiddos when we were planning our location.  “You have three.  You know how they will be, right?”  Do I ever!  I’ve got 2 boys and girl also with just about the exact same age differences.  I assured her they would poke and annoy each other no matter where we were and there wasn’t much that could change that!  These kids were actually terrific and I don’t remember any pokes, kicks or bunny ears…but I am immune to it anyhow so I could be wrong.

I’ve watched these three grow up and I can’t believe how big and gorgeous they are.  All three are going to be heart-breakers very soon.

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Photographer’s Tip:  What to Wear – The Mom of these children picked out clothing that reflects her more traditional style but still works well in a more urban setting.  You would think that she had seen my last post: What to Wear for Summer.   Dress up your girls to make them look great and coordinate the boys – you can never go wrong with Jeans or Polo Shirts.

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Marietta Family